Six

SEVEN

10 years ago

"Jason, there's no such thing!"

"Yes there is Shawn. And to survive in this world you must be an even greater and stronger predator".

I shook my head. We were silent for a while. Exhausted from arguing. We exchanged looks and then laughed. We always argued like this. Over abstract stuff. And we almost never agreed. I never told Jason but he seemed like an old soul even though he was just a year older. For a kid he knew a lot. A lot of adults were shocked at how much Jason could match and even surpass them in reason. Of course surprise gave way to anger a lot of the time. Not many adults were comfortable having their logic challenged by a child at least half their age.

Jason had moved into our neighborhood just a year before. I didn't know where from and he didn't really talk about it much. The only thing I knew was that he had a younger brother who was dead. And in some ways he treated me like his younger brother. I guess in some ways I was a coping mechanism.

Apart from me though, he didn't really mix with the other kids. He had that grown up air about him and many kids didn't like it. Not only did he stand for some of the adult characteristics they despised, he was also cold. Almost non-emotional. The only ones who could be with him were a handful of people, including myself and Lisa. But as smart as Jason was, he wasn't right all the time

It had been so long ago that I couldn't remember exactly what we'd been arguing about. But it was similar to all our other debates. Jason probably made a statement that flew in the face of conventional wisdom and common sense. It was probably dark and disturbing. And I had tried to punch holes in this dark paradigm. I guess indulging in those arguments was my way of trying to save him. I could sense the underlying melancholy beneath his cool exterior. But I was only nine. I wasn't emotionally or mentally mature enough to understand. My life had been relatively peaceful. There hadn't been a death in the family and I wasn't alienated by the others.

"You're naïve", he said in a tone that seemed condescending. He took a straw hat that lay on the grass and put it on my head. That gesture was the equivalent of patting my head. It made me feel small. This was one of the times I didn't exactly like Jason. I took the hat off almost immediately.

"I'm not your little brother you know", I said pouting.

"I know", he said smiling coyly. Which was odd. Jason hardly ever smiled. Was the smile masking something else? I probably shouldn't have made a reference to his brother. In hindsight anybody else would have punched me in the face for that reference. Especially if they felt guilt over that person's death. But that was one of the reasons we melded so well. I was highly emotional and Jason wasn't. In that sense we complimented each other. And even though I vehemently denied it, we were brothers.

 

Shawn woke up in a deep sweat. He had a bad dream again. This time Lisa had been the focus of his dream. He wasn't sure whether it was because of her recent appearance or it was a harbinger. He stood up and realized that he wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping.

Lisa was near the campfire. As she wasn't part of those guarding the camp that night, the only reason could be that she, like him, couldn't sleep.

He walked up to her and sat beside her. She turned and looked at him. "Couldn't sleep too huh?"

He nodded.

They both stared into the fire in silence. Lisa stretched out her hands so that she could feel the heat of the flames. It wasn't that the night was cold. It was probably that the warmth was comforting. Somehow helping to soothe her fears. Shawn followed suit, not exactly sure why. It felt good none the less.

He turned to ask her a question. He involuntarily held his breath. She was so close. He stared at her for a few seconds. Then turned away, suddenly embarrassed.

"What did you want to ask me?" she asked.

"What?"

"You were going to ask a question when you froze. What was it?" Liza asked.

"Oh". How does she know that? At times Shawn thought she was telepathic. He'd never asked her. He was probably too afraid to find out.

"Why can't you sleep?"

She was silent. She simply stared into the fire. It gave her eyes a weird shinning glow. Then she smiled. "Will you promise to tell me yours if I tell you mine?" Her gaze shifted away from the fire and was directed right at him.

Shawn's throat became dry. He swallowed. "I won't promise to tell you everything. Just the details that are necessary".

She smiled and nodded. "Do you know why I joined Atlas's crew?"

Shawn shook his head.

"Because someone is…because there's someone I'm afraid of. Someone I need protection from. And joining Atlas's crew was the only way to get the much needed protection."

Shawn felt the urge to ask who that was. He felt a strange urge to reassure her, protect her. But he was running from his own enemies, he wasn't in the position to protect anyone else. But it helped him be more comfortable with her decision to join Atlas.

He didn't really think highly of Atlas. He was an opportunist. And those were probably some of the people he hated the most. He was creating some sort of symbol for the humans to believe in. Playing the two forces off each other so that he could rise out of the chaos as the new ruler. What else could be his motive? There were a few things that didn't jive with Shawn though. Until he could find answers to his questions he would give space for doubt

"What's yours?" Lisa asked bringing her face close to his, disrupting his thoughts. He moved back. "Sorry. You didn't seem to hear me the first time".

He was about to answer when he stopped. "Wait. You still haven't told me why exactly you can't sleep".

"It's obvious, isn't it?"

"No. You joined Atlas's crew because of protection. If you're still worried it means you're not sure you are safe. Why?"

She sighed and looked up at the sky. "Because no one is ever safe Shawn. Not really".

Her words struck a chord in him. The last time they'd met, he'd failed to protect her. It was around then that her powers had first awoken. Ever since then, he was afraid. Afraid that Lisa would become not Lisa.

She looked at him expecting him to respond. "I had a bad dream. Well two dreams actually. One was about someone I killed. The other…was about not being able to protect someone important to me", he said looking at Lisa.

"Who was it?" Shawn felt his heart quicken. "Who did you kill?" He almost sighed with relief. But dread soon followed. His face grew really cold and flaccid.

"A little girl's father", he said. "It haunts me because it's like déjà vu".

Lisa was quiet. She knew what he meant. Watching your parents being killed in front of you was one thing. Doing the same to someone else was torturous. You would have to live your life knowing the torture that person would go through. The same one you were still dealing with now.

"How old was the kid?" she pressed.

"Younger than we were", he replied.

"I see". Suddenly the mood had changed. She stood up. “It’s not that I'm mad at you", she said. "It’s just that you reminded me of something. No matter how much we try we can't live normal lives. Our sins will always find us out". Something about that last statement disturbed Shawn. What else had Lisa done during those years?